Brookstone Capital Management Acquires 5,231 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,231 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Altria Group stock opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.88. The company has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.